We cut 5/8\" 2 sided Duramine Melamine all day, all week sometimes and use a 1/2 up down shear Diamond bit from Gladu. And we average about 700 to 850 IPM at 18500 to 19250 RPM. and the last 2 tools had over 200 sheets each before we had to change them. We ramp at 140 IPM and found this to be the best settings for our particular runs. We also use a 1/2\" Vortex Viper with mortise tip as our outline tool for plywood panels at about the same setting but about 50-75 IPM slower in some files.

We have tried most of the diamond bits out there and NO ONE has beaten Gladu for quality of cut and longevity. Leuco has a prototype that we have tested for them but they are not ready to release it as of July 2005 when I talked with them in Las Vegas. Most of them are scared to go over 300 IPM and will tell you that. We keep, and I would recommend that everyone does, a daily log of each bit we use. Our spreadsheet consists of- The part file we run, the RPM, IPM, type of material, sheet count and very important The Operator. Now this may be hard for some but it helps us tremendously.
Let me know if you have any questions.

I see a lot of different options being used. One thing that I'm sure everyone is looking for is the most cost effective way to do the job. Now in my case I can't see paying on average $175.00 for a disposable diamond bit that cuts 200 sheets of melamine when I pay $40.00 for a solid carbide that cuts at least 100 sheets. I did just tally my last job and ended up cutting 122 sheets of 3/4 and 1/2\" 5X8 mel. with another 15 sheets of laminate either 1 or both sides. The laminate did the bit in for sure. If not for the HPL I may have gotten 200 sheets, maybe. I guess whatever bit you decide to use the most important thing is getting maximum life out of it. I'll state again for anyone who cares I use a 3/8\" comp. solid carbide from Southeast Tool, Inc. in North Carolina. I buy in bulk, but you can buy one at a time for $50.00. Router speeds are 18,000rpm at 600ipm for 3/4 and 700ipm for 5/8 mel. One way to know your cutting properly is your dust should be large particulates not fine.

Hello Bill,
The bit from Gladu is DBSU44453 which is a .5\" x 3.375\"OAL Up/Down shear and Gladu's # is 1-800-363-9117 and my contact is Jean-Mark.

Hello Forrest,
I would be curious to see if solid carbide has advanced enough to get that kind of life but I want to check to make sure we are apples to apples. When we say 200 + sheets it is 5/8\" MDF core 2 sided melamine. Our part are not just boxes/rectangles. If you strectched out your hand
and spread your fingers apart and then traced it as your toolpath,
that would be something like what we cut all day. So we are in the material for about 1300 inches for one design and 1900 on another.
It can only acheive 700-850 IPM on the straight line toolpath and since the majority of the path is arcs it gets to about 400-550 in between arcs.

Are you cutting MDF or PBC core?

While we are on the subject lets expand it a little to cover 12mm Russian Birch. Is anyone cutting this with good tool life?
We were using the 1/4\" Vortex Viper for years and could get any where from 35 to 60+ sheets from a bit without frayed edges.
We cut the same as above but about 75-100 IPM slower to g the best chip load. But when they changed there bits to a polished bit, so it looks nicer, we found them to be inadequate. They would break after the 1st or 2nd sheet. We changed the collets, toolholder, and cover nut because they, Vortex, said that it had to be our set up and not their tool. Well they still broke. We did not change anything in our operation except their tool had changed and they still broke even when we slowed it down considerably.
Well I tried other MNFTRs and found Arrow tooling to work so far but am always trying to find the most efficient.

So if you are have good results cutting 12mm or more with a 1/4\" or 3/8\" bit let us know.

Most of the melamine we cut is PBC. It may explain why we get as many board as we do. I have friends with a door manufacture co. and they cut alot of mdf with diamond it seems to do a better job in that application. The 3/8\" carbide cutter we use seems to be a good all around bit. We cut some vaneer core as well as mel. but not anywhere near as much. I only use a 1/4\" bit to cut small dados, solid surface, and solid wood. These bits were either down cut for dados or upcut for the latter. I've yet to find a single bit that cut plywood completly fuzzfree. If you have one please let me know. As for the part size we cut it is average for cabs. Sides, decks, tops, stretchers, and such. We also cut alot of 3/4\" mdf for paintgrade mantels and sometimes use bits to dull for cutting melamine. The softer mdf cuts fine with these plus we sand everything after assembly.

I don't know what the perfect setup is. I do know what the years have taught us is dollar for dollar the best for our application. The great thing about this forum is out of so many different setups anyone should be able to find one suitable to their needs.

Forrest,
Do you have the model number on that 3/8\" tool from Southeast? I may give one of each a try. Every time I go down this road I seem to wind up back with the 3/8 MaxWear Compression we use from Onsrud but I would not mind trying something else.